


Wolves and Women

by elenei



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: F/M, puppy fluff!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2016-07-29
Packaged: 2018-07-27 12:49:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7618696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenei/pseuds/elenei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arya makes a very important introduction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wolves and Women

**Author's Note:**

> Submission for Day Six of Arya/Gendry week. Prompt: Command.

He had agreed to follow her anywhere but Gendry seemed uncertain as she led him through the dark forest. The only light was that of the full moon overhead and it sparkled in the snowflakes that fell silently. There was something she wanted to show him. That was the only explanation she gave him. Arya was sure most would balk at the idea of a midnight stroll through the woods during winter but Gendry had come with only minor questions. Most of which Arya ignored. She led him through the trees without a word.

Their boots crunched loudly in the snow. It covered the ground and braches alike and incased the forest in white _. Soon the entire world will look like this_ , Arya thought. It made her feel strong and scared all at once. _When the snow falls and the white winds blow…_

Arya heard Gendry swear. Nymeria was waiting for them in the clearing. Arya had sensed her presence long before the wolf came into view. Even in the castle could feel her. She knew Nymeria had felt the same. That’s why she was here now. Her grey fur almost seemed to glow in the moonlight. She stood tall, taller than any wolf Gendry or even Arya had seen. Even from a distance you could see her strength. Arya walked towards her wolf but Gendry’s hand reached out to grab her. “Arya.” She gave him _a look_ as she pulled away.

“What is it?” He asked in a strangled voice. 

Arya waited until she was next to Nymeria, with a hand on her fur, before she answered. “She’s a direwolf.”  

 “I don’t understand.”

She sighed. How could she explain this to him when was still learning herself?

“For thousands of years the kings of winter kept direwolves as companions. They had the blood of the First Men just like I do.” Arya stared at Gendry hard as stone, daring him. “I’m a warg.” It was the first time she had ever said the words aloud. For the longest time Arya hadn’t even known what to make of her dreams but when she had been reunited with Nymeria she understood. Everything had finally made sense. “When I dream,” Arya struggled to the find the words. “I become her.”

It was quiet for a long time. Arya waited for his response while Gendry stood there with that stupid look on his face that meant he was thinking hard.

“A skinchanger?” he asked eventually.

“Yes.” Maybe one day she’d tell him about the cats in Braavos too. But that would be an even longer conversation. Arya didn’t think either of them was ready for it.

Gendry ran a hand over his face and Arya wasn’t sure what he planned to do. She thought he might leave her standing there alone with her monster in that snowy forest. He might run as far from her as possible despite his promise to never leave again. Arya would let him go if that’s what it came too. But after a moment Gendry just nodded.

“You believe me?” Arya’s voice was disbelieving even to her own ears.

He shrugged. “I’ve seen the dead rise. If you say you dream about wolves then I believe you,” he told her. His face was thoughtful then and there was a faint smile on this face. “It almost makes sense. You growl in your sleep.”

Arya bit her lip.

Gendry took a couple cautious steps forward, analyzing Nymeria. The wolf regarded him with shining golden eyes in return. Her mouth was open and you could see her teeth. Gendry stopped and pushed his hair back from his eyes. His head was cocked to the side as he watched them both.  

“Do you command her?”

It wasn’t the right word. Arya didn’t command Nymeria anymore than Nymeria could command Arya. They were one and the same. But she didn’t think there would ever be a way to explain the bond between them to Gendry. So Arya nodded slowly. “She knows my heart.”

His expression softened.

“Your heart?”

_He cannot be afraid_ , Arya thought fiercely. Of that much she was certain. _He must not be afraid._

Gendry took a deep breath and then crossed the clearing with rushed footsteps until he was within arm’s reach. Wolf and man could look each other in the eye. Even Arya couldn’t do that. Nymeria was much taller than she was. Gendry reached up but before he touched the wolf he looked at Arya. _He’s asking for my approval_ , Arya thought. Pleasure flushed through her. She grabbed his hand and placed it on Nymeria.  Gendry let out a breath Arya suspected he had been holding ever since the direwolf had come into his vision. He ran his fingers through her fur tentatively. In response Nymeria pressed her nose into Gendry’s side.  He startled and glanced down at her.

“What does that mean?” His tone was curious.

“She likes you,” Arya answered. A direwolf could kill a man easily, she knew. And Arya’s wolf had already killed many of them. But Nymeria would never harm Gendry. She had accepted him as one of the pack.

_She knows my heart._

Gendry gave her fur another ruffle, more confident this time. Nymeria let him for a moment before bounding off the way they had come. Gendry frowned. He almost looked insulted.

“Nymeria is coming back with us tonight,” Arya said. Her wolves would prowl outside the walls but Arya needed Nymeria by her side. _Winter is coming_ , she thought with a chill. _And war as well._

“The men will be terrified of this beast,” Gendry informed her as they started back towards the castle. Arya looked up at him with a wolfish grin.   

“They should be.”


End file.
